SOUTH SHORE ENTREPRENEUR: Hanson business motored through the recession

Erin and Noah Gillis know 2007 wasn’t the optimal time to start a business, which they did when they launched Gillis Power Equipment. But the couple didn’t just weather the storm brought on by the recession. They were able to grow their business during the downturn, transitioning from a start-up mobile repair business to a 2,500-square-foot storefront that sells equipment as well.

By Adam Vaccaro

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Adam Vaccaro

Posted Feb. 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 26, 2013 at 1:53 AM

By Adam Vaccaro

Posted Feb. 26, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 26, 2013 at 1:53 AM

HANSON

» Social News

Erin and Noah Gillis know 2007 wasn’t the optimal time to start a business, which they did when they launched Gillis Power Equipment. But the couple didn’t just weather the storm brought on by the recession. They were able to grow their business during the downturn, transitioning from a start-up mobile repair business to a 2,500-square-foot storefront that sells equipment as well.

The experience has given the young business owners – Noah is 31 and Erin is 33 – some clout with vendors and banks as they continue to grow.

“They say, ‘You made it out of (the recession); we’re happy to see that,’” Erin Gillis said.

The Halifax residents built the business on the back of Noah Gillis’ experience at a former Pembroke equipment repair shop, Fox Run Equipment. He held the title of head technician and was running most of Fox Run’s day-to-day operations by 2007, when the shop closed.

With Erin’s support, Noah decided to begin a mobile power equipment repair service. The business took off, but he hit his limit in terms of the workload he could handle.

So in 2011, they opened a storefront in Pembroke. In January 2012, they opened in the larger Hanson location, and began selling power equipment as well.

Erin’s background is in hairdressing, but she has been teaching herself about business and the power equipment industry since the launching of Gillis Power Equipment.

Noah Gillis said the slow growth – from mobile-only to a small storefront to the business’ current home – sustained itself.

“We were able to keep overhead low,” he said. “To open a shop without first doing the mobile would have been virtually impossible.”

They still offer the mobile repair service in the spring, summer and fall. But at this point, it is only a fraction of their business, as retail and in-store repairs have taken bigger roles.

The business’ floor is filled with products (Gillis is a distributor for brands like Tanaka and DR), and Noah said they are running out of space.

So the Gillises are considering renting the second floor of their building, buying the building or moving to a larger location.

If they were to move, they said, they would stay in Hanson. The area’s farmland has made for a fertile market for power equipment sales and repairs, they said.

Gillis Power Equipment is at 1127 Main St., Hanson, and can be reached at 781-754-0152.